Rustic Sourdough Bread
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This Rustic Sourdough Bread is a chewy loaf with a deliciously crisp exterior and a mild sourdough tang that is great for those just starting out with sourdough because it includes yeast as well as sourdough starter.
I created Virgil Flowers in early May. I had been wanting to have my own sourdough starter for years but I just never had the time to do it. Since I was working from home in the spring I decided that the time was now.
This was my first starter so I wasn’t really sure how it would act. I used it in 2 or 3 sourdough discard recipes before I felt like I was ready to try a loaf of bread. My first loaf wasn’t as big and round as I would have liked but it still looked and tasted decent.
When I was ready to make my second sourdough loaf I ended up making this Rustic Sourdough Bread. I thought it was a good choice because it has yeast in it as well as sourdough starter so if my starter wasn’t up to speed the yeast would help it out.
One thing I liked about this recipe is that the bread is ready to bake the day you make it. So many recipes for sourdough loaves take 2 and 3 days. That’s fine when I’m planning ahead but sometimes you just want bread that day.
There isn’t much to the recipe. It’s just sourdough starter, water, instant yeast, salt, and flour. Five simple ingredients that make an awesome loaf of bread.
I also didn’t read the recipe the whole way through and had no idea it made two loaves. I whipped up the dough thinking that it was really big and then realized my mistake. Luckily I had cut out a recipe that used half a loaf of bread so I kept on working the dough.
Basically you combine the ingredients, knead the dough, and let it rise. Once it has doubled you divide the dough in half and shape it into two loaves. Then you let those loaves rise. Finally you put a few slashes in the bread and pop it in the oven.
I don’t know about you but I love the smell of fresh baked bread. My husband and I couldn’t stop ourselves from each eating a slice slathered in butter as soon as it came out of the oven. It had a crispy outside with a chewy inside that had a nice bit of tang to it.
I ended up using one whole loaf for sandwiches and we enjoyed the other one in the recipe I mentioned above as well as for our morning toast. This is such an easy recipe and is perfect for sourdough beginners!
Pro Tips & Substitutions:
- Do not slash the bread until you are ready to put it in the oven. If you do it any earlier the dough will spread out and be a fairly flat loaf.
- To get a super crispy crust spritz the loaves with water and dust them with flour before slashing them and putting them in the oven.
- You can totally add dried herbs, garlic, or other spices to the loaves in the first step when combining all of the ingredients.
Rustic Sourdough Bread
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 c. fed sourdough starter
- 1 1/2 c. lukewarm water
- 1 package instant yeast 1/4 oz
- 3 teaspoons salt
- 5 c. all purpose flour
Instructions
- Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl and mix well.
- Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 2 minutes or until a smooth dough forms.
- Lightly grease of bowl, place the dough in the bowl, cover, and let rise 90 minutes.
- Once the dough has doubled in size divide it in half.
- Shape the dough into two oval loaves. Place the loaves on a lightly greased baking sheet.
- Cover and let rise until puffy, about 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
- Once the oven is preheated make two half inch deep slashes in each loaf using a serrated knife.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the loaves are golden brown.
- Remove from oven and cool completely on a wire rack.
Notes
Nutrition
Homemade Bread Day
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Love the “hybrid” sourdough recipes–less scary but still the sourdough flavor. We usually break down and cut a slice out of the oven too 🙂
It’s time to wake up my starter again and make some good crusty loaves. Thanks for the tip on when to slash the bread, I didn’t know that one.
Definitely need to make sourdough bread. Guess I need to make the starter or find someone who has some! This loaf looks so great!
This KAF recipe was my first sourdough bread I tried! It really is a great recipe! I’ve made it over and over again. Great job!